Status of Street Condition and Repair Work

Presented to the Transportation and Trinity River Project Committee 24 February 2014 

Purpose
Demonstrate the way streets are rated, the departments that work on streets, the streets condition and what is needed to maintain them

Outline
• Life cycle of streets • Rating streets condition

• Condition of streets and the City’s goals
• Work plan for maintaining and improving streets • Requirements to maintain and/or improve our streets

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Life Cycle of a Street
• Typical life of street - 20 to 50 plus years depending on: – Pavement design – Traffic loads – Soil conditions – Weather/precipitation patterns – Maintenance schedule • National records reveal that streets without a proactive and major maintenance programs degrade annually at the following rates:
– Satisfactory streets 2.5% - 5.5% – Unsatisfactory streets 5.5% - 10%
Note: Work is underway to confirm these rates on Dallas’ streets
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How Streets Are Graded
• Visual inspections started in 1975
• Ratings were subject to judgment by staff

•

Since 2007 streets and alleys are reviewed every two (2) years using the street analysis vehicle Ground penetration testing, radar, cameras used to inspect Technical rating of streets based on extent and severity of distress (roughness, cracking, etc.) = Pavement Condition Index [PCI] measuring roughness, cracking and distress For decades PCI ratings have been assigned letter grades: A (best) to E (worst)

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Street Condition Ratings
Rating
A

Description
Excellent
Pavements that have no distress (mostly new or newly rehabilitated surfaces)

PCI
100-85

Good
B Very good ride quality requires preventive maintenance (slurry seal or similar) if any

85-70

Satisfactory

C

Fair
Acceptable ride quality, though road surfaces are becoming worn – slurry, microsurfacing, partial reconstruction or similar is needed to prevent rapid deterioration

70-45

Unsatisfactory

D

Poor
Marginally acceptable ride quality – microsurfacing, chip sealing, or partial reconstruction, resurfacing or rehabilitation is needed to prevent rapid deterioration

45-35

E

Very Poor
Pavements that have extensive amounts of distress and requires partial or full reconstruction or restoration 5

>35

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Street Condition Goals and Background
• Street condition goals - revised and adopted by City Council in 2006: – 87% satisfactory Citywide (Satisfactory = A’s, B’s, and C’s) – Minimum 80% satisfactory in each Council District – Goals were to be achieved by completion of 2006 Bond Program in conjunction with an enhanced O&M program • Reaching the Council’s 2006 goal of 87% overall satisfaction rating requires additional funding of over $900 million in the next four (4) years – Regular Bond Programs (infrastructure improvements) – Annual street maintenance

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Total Lane Miles 11,700

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Very Poor

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87% Goal

80% Goal

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Old

New

87% Goal

80% Goal

Citywide

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Departments that Construct and Maintain Streets
Street Services
• Responsible for Streets, Alleys & Bridges through: • Maintenance & Repair • Major maintenance • Restoration & Rehabilitation of “unimproved” asphalt streets • Performs own construction • Selects contractors to perform overflow construction Funding: General fund •

Public Works
Responsible for Streets, Alleys and Bridges through: • New construction • Reconstruction • Resurfacing • Selection of design consultants • Bidding projects for construction • Managing, inspecting design and construction projects Funding: Bond program •

Water Department
Street reconstruction as a result of water and wastewater replacement • Selection of design consultants • Bidding projects for construction • Managing, inspecting design and construction Funding: Enterprise funding

Note: Larger projects are referred to Public Works

• •

Bond Program investment is for construction, reconstruction & resurfacing Maintenance extends the life of these infrastructure items
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Street Replacements

412 lane miles

541 lane miles 1,422 lane miles
Incidental to water & wastewater pipeline replacements

Departments & private utilities collectively develop multi-year work plans to avoid conflicts and duplication of efforts as well as adding to and expanding projects

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Street Services Department
• $62M Budget with 588 employees • Maintains over 11,700 lane miles of streets

• Organized into four business units: – Street Repair Division – Service Maintenance Areas (4 plus night operations) – Contracts, Finance & Inspections – Transportation Operations

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Street Services
• Streets & Alleys
– – – – Pothole repair Street & alley repair Litter removal Response to roadway hazards – – – – Roadside drainage Guard rail repair Inlet cleaning Severe weather response

• Contracted Services
– – – – Street sweeping (major thoroughfares) Mowing of medians/ TXDOT rights-of-way Sealing of streets (prevent water infiltration) Lane line and crosswalk

• Transportation Operations
– – – – Traffic Studies Traffic Signals Street Stripping Traffic Signs – Street Lighting – Congestion Management – Lane Closure Permits
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Treatments Performed / Contracted by Streets Services
Contracted Treatments
Slurry Seal
$13K per lane mile and last from 5-7 years

Micro Surfacing
$19K per lane mile and last from 5-7 years

Partial Reconstruction (both in-house and contracted)
$67.50 per square yard (including curb & gutter repair) and last from 10-12 years

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Treatments Performed / Contracted by Streets Services
In-House Treatments
Full-Depth Repair
$20.50 per square yard for asphalt street $69 per square yard for concrete street and last from 5-7 years

Asphalt Street Rehabilitation
$160K per lane mile and last from 10-12 years

Asphalt Street Restoration
$180K per lane mile and last from 18-20 years

Partial Reconstruction (both in-house and contracted)
$73 per square yard (including curb & gutter repair) and last from 10-12 years
*Cost is within 7.5% of the contracted cost for similar work

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Impacts of Maintenance on Street Condition Ratings
• Proactive maintenance effectively extends life expectancy of streets
• Maintenance work is planned or service request-driven – Preventive Maintenance (primarily Full-depth Asphalt/Concrete, Micro Surfacing and Slurry Sealing) – Major Maintenance (primarily Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Partial Reconstruction)

• Since most preventive maintenance is performed on satisfactory streets, the overall rating does not increase. Preventive maintenance prevents deterioration that decreases ratings • Major maintenance on unsatisfactory streets increases the satisfactory overall ratings
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Public Works Department
• $16.6M annual operating budget with 173 employees
– Engineers, Surveyors, Inspectors & Support staff

• $331M capital budget for street and thoroughfare improvements • $18M capital budget for aviation and city facilities

• Organized into three (3) main work units – Street and paving infrastructure and surveying – New facilities and facility major maintenance – Air Quality, Parking Adjudication, and Finance
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Public Works
• Street and Paving Infrastructure – Design and Construction – – – – – – Street and alley reconstruction and street resurfacing New street and alley petitions Complete streets Thoroughfares and urban design / streetscaping Intergovernmental partnerships and bridge repairs Pavement management and life cycle analysis

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Program Development and Street Selection Process
For Capital Programs and Annual Work Plans
– Develop a preliminary criteria for candidate streets for each treatment type/maintenance program
– Allocate funding among street improvement/maintenance programs – Obtain Council input on street needs – Evaluate candidate streets (includes field verification) – Coordinate with utility owners and City departments – Select projects

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Street Treatments Managed by Public Works

Resurfacing $200K per lane mile, includes curb and gutter and base repairs Last from 15-20 years with maintenance

Reconstruction $1M per lane mile, includes curb and gutter, base replacement and drainage Last from 20-50 years with maintenance

Work is performed by contractors and managed by staff engineers and inspectors
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Street Treatments Managed by Dallas Water Utilities

Street and alley repairs by the Dallas Water Utilities are associated with pipeline replacement. For asphalt streets the City policy requires that an entire lane be reconstructed at the location for where the pipeline is replaced. From joint to joint for concrete streets.
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Four Year Work Plan For Repairing and Replacing Unsatisfactory Streets By Department
2013/14
Street Services E’s & D’s into C’s
Public Works E’s & D’s into A’s & B’s DWU E’s & D’s into B’s & C’s Total Lane Miles Improved

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

42

42

42

42

59

89

78

56

48

58

65

67

149

189

185

165

Note: The total lane miles in unsatisfactory condition today is 2,361

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How Streets Degrade
• Streets degrade for the following reasons:
– Shifting soil – Harsh weather – Age – Usage – Under-designed streets These events cause streets to crack, allowing for water infiltration that undermines the base material

• Streets degrade at different rates
– A, B and E streets degrade the slowest – C and D streets degrade the fastest

• 62% of our streets are in C condition
– A at 1.5%, B at 16.4%, C at 62%, D at 12% and E at 8.1%
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Street Degradation Curve
Streets degrade at a rate from 0.3% to over 10% yearly
Minimal maintenance by Street Services Various maintenance treatments provide temporary relief by Street Services Requires resurfacing by Public Works Requires major and proactive maintenance by Street Services

Annual Rate of Degradation

Requires proactive maintenance by Street Services

Various maintenance treatments provide temporary relief by Streets Services Requires reconstruction by Public Works

1,405 LM

183 LM

1,919 LM
A Streets B Streets

7,280 LM
C Streets D Streets E Streets

956 LM

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Condition Of Streets – Expected Deterioration
Visual Inspection Street Analysis Vehicle

Estimated average 2.1%/yr deterioration w/current budgeted O&M & capital budget.

Citywide rating decreased from 86.7% to 83.2% in FY10 due to deferred maintenance and development of a more precise condition rating system. Continued analysis of local degradation rates will cause refinement of these projections.

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87% Goal

80% Goal

Citywide

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Alternatives for Reducing the Deterioration Rate
• Repair C streets to avoid them from becoming D streets
62% of streets are C streets and have the highest deterioration rate
– – Requires additional investment of $245 million for four (4) years to reach a degradation rate of 0% Disadvantage is that many repairs have a short term effect 3-10 years

• Resurfacing D streets at the rate that C’s become D’s to achieve 0% degradation
– – Requires an additional investment of $728 million over four (4) years Makes D streets into A & B streets which last longer

• Resurface and reconstruct thoroughfares, collector and arterial streets – most used by the public
– – – – 444 LM of thoroughfares, collector and arterial streets are in unsatisfactory condition Requires an investment of $187 million for four years to replace 444 LM Will not address residential streets Overall deterioration rate continues to climb

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Future Policy Considerations
• In future bond programs, focus on projects that improve street conditions
– Only 55% of the Proposition 1 (Street and Thoroughfare Improvements) in the 2012 Bond Program improved street conditions

• Allow for unequal street repair funding among Council Districts • Re-evaluate the 2006 Council goal for overall street satisfaction of 87% with no Council District under 80%
– Reduce the requirements to reflect affordability

• Set aside additional funds in future bond programs to allocate to Dallas Water Utilities for replacing the remaining portion of streets not addressed in a pipeline replacement project

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Questions & Comments

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